What does appraisal mean?
An appraisal is a formal assessment of the value, quality, or performance of something or someone, usually conducted by someone with the expertise to judge it fairly. The word appears most often in two professional settings: first, in finance and real estate, where an appraisal establishes what a house, piece of land, or valuable object is worth; and second, in the workplace, where an appraisal is a structured review of how well an employee has performed over a given period. Beyond these contexts, it can describe any considered judgment about the merit or significance of something, such as an honest appraisal of a plan's chances of success. The word carries a tone of professionalism and objectivity — an appraisal implies careful, systematic evaluation rather than casual opinion. It derives from the verb 'appraise', which traces back through Old French to the Latin 'pretium', meaning price, making it a distant relative of words like 'precious' and 'praise'. Understanding appraisal is useful because it names a process nearly everyone encounters, whether buying a home, sitting through a job review, or weighing up an idea.
nounAn assessment or estimation of the value, quality, or nature of something or someone, typically carried out by an expert or through a formal process.
- A formal assessment of the monetary value of property, goods, or assets, especially by a qualified expert.
- An evaluation of an employee's performance and contribution over a period, typically conducted by their manager.
- A judgment or assessment of the quality, character, or significance of something more generally.
"The bank required an independent appraisal of the house before approving the mortgage."
"Before the sale could proceed, a certified appraiser carried out a full appraisal of the estate's contents."
"Her annual appraisal went well, and her manager recommended her for promotion."
The plural is regular and common, especially when referring to multiple assessments across properties, employees, or occasions.
"All staff undergo annual appraisals as part of the company's development programme."
Every time you hear the word 'appraisal', you're hearing a distant echo of the Latin word for price — 'pretium' — the same root that gave us 'precious' and 'praise'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of appraisal
Appraisal comes from the verb 'appraise', which entered English in the late Middle Ages from Old French 'aprisier', itself derived from Late Latin 'appretiare', meaning to set a value on something. The ultimate root is the Latin noun 'pretium', meaning price or value, which also gave English the words 'price', 'precious', 'praise', and 'appreciate'. The noun 'appraisal' developed as a natural derivative of the verb, becoming established in English by the early modern period as formal valuation practices grew in commerce and law.
Related word forms
How appraisal is actually used
Appraisal carries a formal, professional register. It is standard vocabulary in finance, real estate, and human resources. In British workplaces, 'appraisal' often refers specifically to a scheduled performance review meeting, while American usage more commonly says 'performance review' for that context and reserves 'appraisal' largely for valuations of property and assets.
Easily confused with appraisal
Appeasement means making concessions to pacify someone, whereas appraisal is the act of assessing value or quality.
To apprise means to inform or notify someone, while an appraisal is an evaluation of value or quality — the two words share a root but differ entirely in meaning.